Florida News That Impacts You – June 18th, 2024
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- The United States Supreme Court declined to hear a legal challenge to the 2021 Seminole Compact which enabled the Seminole Tribe to expand gaming operations at its casinos in addition to offering sports betting services on-site and through their app. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling recognizing the legitimacy of the 30-year Compact that runs to 2051, granting the Seminole Tribe exclusivity in exchange for regular payments to the state that’s used for education.
- Florida’s latest voter registration update reflecting voter registration rolls as of May 31st, shows another record advantage for Republicans in advance of this year’s presidential election cycle. The Republican advantage over Democrats now stands at 930,671 voters. That total includes a net change of over 24,000 voters to the GOP’s advantage in May alone.
- The University of Florida has been given a perfect 5-star rating for the second year in a row from Money magazine via their annual Best Colleges in America report. The top rating is cited as being a combination of high-quality education at an affordable price. Overall, 25 different factors are considered by Money and UF was one of only 54 schools to receive the top rating and the only one in Florida.
- A mix of clouds and sun today with windy conditions along the coast. The high will be in the upper 80’s. Temps will be about 3 degrees higher than usual for this date. The National Hurricane Center is tracking two disturbances. Potential tropical cycle one in the Southwestern Gulf is expected to develop into a tropical storm before making landfall in Mexico on Thursday. Another disturbance in the eastern Carribean has a 20% chance of development, lower than at this time yesterday, as it’s expected to approach the Southeast coastline between northern Florida and the South Carolina coastline later this week.
- Gas prices are at fresh 4+ month lows dropping another penny on Monday. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.24 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.49 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.27 and in Indian River County the average is $3.23 per gallon.